Steve is an unknown atmospheric phenomenon

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Meet this "Steve" - a recently discovered unknown atmospheric phenomenon. It is so unusual that it still has no official scientific explanation. Hence, by the way, such a clearly unusual name.

Thanks to continuous work carried out over several months by a group of atmospheric enthusiasts and specialists, it is now possible to get to know Steve better. However, many questions still remain a mystery to scientists.

This amazing phenomenon was first noticed by a group of Facebook enthusiasts observing and studying auroras (auroras). Thanks to the power of the Internet as well as the media, the news was quickly overgrown with commentary as well as reports from other observers. The phenomenon is a bright violet-green ribbon of light slowly floating across the sky. And unlike other known types of aurora, scientists still don't know what is its source. The group Alberta Aurora Chasers, who discovered this phenomenon, decided to name him "Steve" in honor of one of the characters in the children's cartoon "The Woods", who used to give the name Steve to every object that was inexplicable from his point of view.

Soon, the work of amateur enthusiasts attracted the attention of scientists from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), as well as the University of Calgary (Canada), who are now also trying to figure out what is really behind this phenomenon. And now the first information has just begun to appear on Western blogs. So, the blog Aurorasaurus reports that the width of the "Steve" tape, which usually stretches from east to west, is about 25-30 kilometers. In this case, its length can be hundreds, and possibly thousands of kilometers. The phenomenon can last for an hour or more and is most likely seasonal. From October to February, it was not observed. The base color gives off a purple tint, often accompanied by green "feathers" that quickly fade away. The phenomenon is most often observed in northern Canada (near Calgary, Alberta, Canada). Initially, enthusiasts believed that the increased activity of protons in the atmosphere could be the source of the phenomenon, but proton auroras are invisible to the naked eye, so this option was immediately discarded.

Professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, Eric Donovan, also expressed interest in this unusual atmospheric phenomenon and decided to study the data collected as part of the Swarm satellite mission of the European Space Agency, which studies the Earth's magnetic field. The mission uses three satellites to accurately measure the strength, direction and changes in the state of the Earth's magnetic field, causing the appearance of auroras. This amazing phenomenon is created by the collision of highly charged particles of the solar wind with particles of gas that make up our planet's atmosphere, such as oxygen and nitrogen.

Most recently, the Swarm satellites flew directly over Steve, and data collected by their research instruments showed very clear changes in the state of the environment in the area of this phenomenon.

“The temperature at an altitude of 300 kilometers above the Earth's surface has jumped to 3000 degrees Celsius. The data showed that the 25 km wide part of the Steve's plume on the west side was traveling at this moment at a speed of 6 kilometers per second, while the speed of its opposite side was 10 kilometers per second,”Donovan said in an ESA press release

Having doubts about such incredible temperature changes, the Gizmodo portal decided to directly contact Donovan and asked him to clarify whether the data on the ESA website was correct, to which he replied that the temperature growth indicators were correct. Gizmodo reporters also asked if Donovan did not know the reason for these temperature changes.

“My colleague Bea Gallardo-Lacourt and I are working on one option, but we cannot comment on anything concrete at the moment. However, we are going to publish our ideas very soon."

Donovan also noted that he is quite surprised at how often "Steve" appears. The phenomenon, most likely, manifested itself earlier, but scientists only now drew attention to it and decided that it clearly deserves its presentation as a separate atmospheric phenomenon. In addition, the researcher noted an unusual spectral set: Steve's color combinations are not like the usual aurora.